The Family Fortune is rich with divinely dysfunctional contemporary characters who could have stepped from a Jane Austen novel. With this sharply observed first novel, Laurie Horowitz has indeed earned her literary license.” — Mary Kay Andrews, bestselling author of Hissy Fit
“The Family Fortune is like a delicious white wine, lively and dry, with just a hint of oak, bursting in your mouth and enveloping your body in warmth.” — Rhea Perlman
“This first novel’s wicked wit, impeccable timing, and ear for dialog sparkle. Light without being fluffy and warm without being sappy, Horowitz’s contemporary spin on Jane Austen’s Persuasion is sophisticated and funny, striking just the right note of romance, social commentary, and sibling rivalry.” — Library Journal (starred review)
“Horowitz has finely captured the bored silliness of WASP high society, creating a stylish portrait of an endangered species.” — Kirkus Reviews
“[Protagonist] Jane’s voice is natural and lively....Horowitz captures her ‘lifestyles of the rich and literary’ milieu.” — Publishers Weekly
“The Family Fortune is a delight; I love the romance, the comedy, but mostly the fact that this “family” bears no resemblance to my own. A lovely debut.” — Gigi Levangie Grazer, author of The Starter Wife
“An entertaining debut.” — Romance Reviews Today
“Horowitz nicely captures the sense of fading gradueur in her Boston and Martha’s Vineyard settings....nuanced...enjoyable.” — Christian Science Monitor
“Horowitz has a restrained, wry style and an appreciation of the little details that separate old money from new money from no money.…Entertaining.” — Boston Globe
“The book balances social satire with emotional intelligence and romanticism—the patented Austen formula. It worked for me.” — Newsday (New York)
“Jane Austen fans may get a chuckle out of The Family Fortune , a modern retelling of Austen’s Persuasion .” — Sarasota Herald-Tribune
“A lighthearted, modern-day tribute to Jane Austen’s Persuasion .” — Canadian Press
The Family Fortune is like a delicious white wine, lively and dry, with just a hint of oak, bursting in your mouth and enveloping your body in warmth.
The Family Fortune is rich with divinely dysfunctional contemporary characters who could have stepped from a Jane Austen novel. With this sharply observed first novel, Laurie Horowitz has indeed earned her literary license.
An entertaining debut.
Horowitz nicely captures the sense of fading gradueur in her Boston and Martha’s Vineyard settings....nuanced...enjoyable.
Christian Science Monitor
The book balances social satire with emotional intelligence and romanticism—the patented Austen formula. It worked for me.
The Family Fortune is a delight; I love the romance, the comedy, but mostly the fact that this “family” bears no resemblance to my own. A lovely debut.
Horowitz has a restrained, wry style and an appreciation of the little details that separate old money from new money from no money.…Entertaining.
Jane Austen fans may get a chuckle out of The Family Fortune , a modern retelling of Austen’s Persuasion .
A lighthearted, modern-day tribute to Jane Austen’s Persuasion .
Based loosely on Jane Austen's Persuasion, Horowitz's cheeky, uneven debut novel follows Jane Fortune, a Bostonian with a romantic crisis. The 38-year-old founder and editor of a prominent literary journal, Euphemia Review, Jane pines for true love while devouring novels and dealing with the financial woes of her once wealthy family, which force them out of their Beacon Hill home. When an enigmatic writer named Jack Reilly submits a brilliant story to a Euphemia contest, Jane is intrigued; when she learns that he lives off the grid, she becomes infatuated and tries to track him down. But Jane still carries a torch for her first love, Max Wellman, a successful novelist who got his start in Euphemia. Jane's narrative voice is natural and lively, but the plot unfolds in fits, careening between Jane's romantic adventures and the Fortune family foibles. Horowitz captures her "lifestyles of the rich and literary" milieu, but otherwise her Austen tribute is transparent and unnecessary; for all the highbrow window dressing, this is pure chick lit, featuring characters with the depth of a teacup and a "girl loses boy, girl finds boy" plot. Horowitz continues the tradition ably, promising plenty as soon as she ditches the lit-crit posturing and embraces her inner Lauren Weisberger. (May) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Jane Fortune, single and almost 40, has made her family's foundation and literary magazine her life's work. Charged with selecting one writer annually to receive the foundation's award, Jane still thinks about the first winner, Max Wellman, the one who could have been the love of her life but ultimately got away-or, rather, whom she pushed away more than ten years ago. Since then, the Fortunes' fortunes have shifted, necessitating the renting of their Boston home, which brings Max back into the periphery of Jane's life. Sorting through the ulterior motives of a sudden suitor, narcissistic sisters, and overbearing friend of the family cum stand-in mother, Jane realizes that if she can overcome her pride and prejudice, she just may have a second chance at happiness. This first novel's wicked wit, impeccable timing, and ear for dialog sparkle. Light without being fluffy and warm without being sappy, Horowitz's contemporary spin on Jane Austen's Persuasion is sophisticated and funny, striking just the right note of romance, social commentary, and sibling rivalry. Highly recommended.-Amy Brozio-Andrews, Albany P.L., NY Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Wry, romantic and a little sad, Horowitz's first novel is the story of a crumbling family of Boston Brahmins. Jane Fortune can't help but feel like a spinster-at 38, she has yet to move out of her family's home. With father Teddy, a snobbish glamour boy, and elegant older sister Miranda, who is known for her parties, the three live a life of useless splendor in a Louisburg Square brownstone. While Teddy and Miranda shop and gossip and assume that the society page still matters, practical, predictable Jane runs the Fortune Family Foundation, a charitable trust with literary leanings. Jane's baby is the Euphemia Review, a journal she started 15 years ago, devoted to nurturing new talent. Now it's an icon and its yearly grant-giving a prestigious name-maker. The Fortunes' lives seem fixed, until they discover that they're nearly broke. As a last-ditch effort to rebuild capital, the family rents out the brownstone-and for once in her life Jane is alone and free. Teddy and Miranda decide to winter in Palm Beach while Jane stays and confronts the biggest mistake of her life, letting go of one-time love Max Wellman, now a famous author, nicknamed the "literary lothario" when Jane awarded him the Review's first writer's grant. Cautious Jane broke Max's heart, but now he's again crossing her path. Staying with younger sister Winnie for the holidays, Jane finds that Max is an old friend of Winnie's husband Charlie. Of course, Jane is still in love with Max (she even has a service send her all his press clippings), but Max seems more interested in Charlie's nubile little sister than frumpy Jane. Or does he? Traipsing around Boston, Vermont and Martha's Vineyard, Jane is being hotly pursued by thewell-bred Guy Callow, while hoping against hope that Max will give her a second chance. Horowitz has finely captured the bored silliness of WASP high society, creating a stylish portrait of an endangered species.
